Arizona center Oumar Ballo enters transfer portal
Apr 8, 2024, 10:59 AM | Updated: 3:00 pm
Oumar Ballo #11 of the Arizona Wildcats is greeted by teammates during player introductions before the Desert Classic against the Florida Atlantic Owls at T-Mobile Arena on December 23, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Owls defeated the Wildcats 96-95 in double overtime. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Arizona Wildcats center Oumar Ballo will enter the transfer portal with a year of eligibility left.
Ballo made the announcement on his Instagram page Monday.
Backup center Dylan Anderson, who was redshirting this past season, is also entering the portal, he told On3.com.
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The two-time All-Pac-12 First Team center joins redshirted freshman center Dylan Anderson and little-used wings Paulius Murauskas and Filip Borovicanin in the transfer portal.
Ballo played the past three years at Arizona since following head coach Tommy Lloyd to Tucson after a freshman year with the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
Ballo averaged 12.9 points and 10.1 rebounds with 1.3 blocks per game this past season, helping the Wildcats earn a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament before advancing to the Sweet 16.
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It was expected he would go pro, and Arizona has options to replace him in the starting lineup moving forward.
Lloyd leaned heavily on freshman big man Motijus Krivas, a Lithuanian who averaged 5.4 points and 4.2 rebounds in 12.1 minutes per game as the backup center. He played in all 36 games in 2023-24.
Behind him, Estonian big man Henri Veesaar earned a redshirt year after sitting out to recover from an elbow injury.
Arizona’s recruiting class also includes four-star center Emmanuel Stephen, another 7-footer from Dream City Christian in Glendale.
